San Marcos City Council members held a special meeting May 28 to give final approval to a development amendment that will allow H-E-B to build a store at McCarty Lane and I-35.

H-E-B is negotiating with property owner Stratford Land Co. to purchase 17 acres in the northwestern corner of the 259-acre McCarty Commons Planned Development District.

Council had given initial approval to the amendment at its regular meeting May 7 but postponed a final decision May 21 after Councilman John Thomaides raised questions about a future extension of Hwy. 21 through the property.

“I understand this is about an H-E-B on the corner, and I’m very happy with that portion of this amendment,” Thomaides said. However, he added later, “I am uncomfortable signing off on an agreement that doesn’t get us a road, which would be my ultimate goal, and if it would have been [the developer’s] responsibility to build it, if that’s a fair compromise, then I would like them to build it.”

Under the amended agreement, which council ultimately approved by a unanimous decision, the McCarty Commons developer will donate land to build a four-lane, 2,000-foot-long state highway through the property. The City of San Marcos will pay to build two lanes of the road, and the developer is obligated to pay for construction of the remaining two lanes when it is ready to develop that portion of the property.

City Manager Jim Nuse said the agreement was a good investment for the City of San Marcos.

“Our cost of that segment of roadway is about $1.1 million,” Nuse said. “H-E-B would generate that much in sales taxes in two years.”

City officials are also negotiating with the developer of the proposed Gas Lamp District, which is next to McCarty Commons, to build an extension of Hwy. 21 through that property. City leaders envision the Hwy. 21 extension as a major thoroughfare for people traveling to and from commercial centers on the southern and eastern sides of San Marcos.